Bernie Sanders is in a 'tie' with Hillary Clinton in one key primary state

Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton and fellow
Democratic candidate and US Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont)
are in a "statistical tie" in the first-in-the-nation
primary state of New Hampshire, according to a new poll of the state released Thursday evening.

The poll, from CNN and New Hampshire station WMUR, found that
Clinton leads Sanders, 43-35, among Democratic primary voters in
the state. But that result is within the margin of error
(plus-or-minus 5.2%).

"Hillary Clinton, who has held comfortable leads over all her
Democratic rivals, is now in a statistical tie with Vermont
Senator Bernie Sanders in New Hampshire," wrote Andrew Smith and
Zach Azem of the University of New Hampshire Survey
Center, which conducted the poll.

Clinton's advisers have said all along that they expect a
competitive primary process. But Sanders became the surprising
favored alternative: In a May poll from Bloomberg and St. Anselm
College, Sanders trailed Clinton by 44 points among
Democrats.

In the CNN/WMUR poll, Clinton and Sanders now own identical
net favorability ratings among Democratic primary
voters.

WMUR/CNN

Clinton's lead in the survey has narrowed considerably
since the last conducted WMUR/CNN poll. In May, she held a
significant 31-point lead over US Sen. Elizabeth Warren
(D-Massachusetts), who has said repeatedly that she will not run
for president but was still being included in polls at that
point.

Clinton has some clear advantages among Democratic primary
voters in the state — for example, she is viewed as the
"strongest leader" by more than 40 points, and she's also viewed
as the candidate who "has personal characteristics and qualities
you think a president should have."

But she's also viewed as the "least honest" Democrat in the
field (28% of voters say so). And Sanders is the candidate who
Democrats think "best represents Democrats like yourself"( by
41-30 over Clinton) and who "cares the most about people like
you" (by 45-24 over Clinton).

After Clinton and Sanders, 8% of Democrats in the poll
preferred Vice President Joe Biden as their candidate of choice.
And 2% chose former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley.

But for all of the potential warning signs in New
Hampshire, Clinton does not appear to be facing similar
tightening in other primary states. A Morning Consult poll released last week gave her more than
40-point leads in both Iowa and South Carolina.